Dak Prescott puts the right kind of pressure on Cowboys teammates with latest comments ahead of Week 2

As the 33-17 scoreboard suggests, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Cleveland Browns in style last Sunday. However, what the offense looked like is not enough. After all, defense and special teams significantly contributed to the final points scored by the team. And quarterback Dak Prescott, who was recently signed to a $240 million contract , understands it.

He also knows even if it's only Week 2, this weekend is very important for the team, as it represents a real opportunity to make a big jump right away after an inconsistent outing in Cleveland.

"Usually that's when teams make that jump, from week one to week two," Prescott told reporters on Thursday . "Understanding that we left a lot of meat out there on the bone and you look at the game and there was as we've said around here, it was a tale of two halves. First half started off slow on the first drive, after that got it rolling, got some first downs scored, got some points and in the second half we weren't able to convert on third down. That was the story for us we weren't able to put that team away when we had the chance."

Prescott's message sends the right message to the locker room: At least as far as the offense is concerned, no one should be satisfied with what the team did in Cleveland, even if it was against one of the best defenses in the league.

The quarterback is putting the right kind of pressure on the team, not only demanding improvement but acknowledging the urgency for it.

For the Cowboys, that improvement will start with third down offense. Last year, McCarthy's first year as the offensive architect in Dallas, Prescott and Co. had the second-highest conversion percentage in the league at 49%. Against the Browns, the team went 4-of-14, including 0-of-5 in the second half.

Up next, the Cowboys have a Saints defense that just held the Carolina Panthers to one conversion in ten attempts. Now granted, Dallas is vastly superior to the Panthers as far as talent goes but New Orleans was already pretty good on third down in 2023, ranking as the fourth best unit in conversion percentage allowed last year.

Dennis Allen is unafraid to present exotic looks just like Mike Zimmer and Prescott will have his hands full deciphering things at the line of scrimmage on Sunday. He's a coach that's unafraid to overload one side (or two) of the offensive line and rotate his safeties.

"I understand they've got a multiple of personnel, they're going to give you a bunch of different looks with a bunch of different guys," Prescott added. "For us it's about communicating up front, understanding they're going to try to squeeze us from the line of scrimmage to the top of our routes, whether it's man or zone. They understand that scheme, a lot of veterans there, so for us it's about playing through that."

On the other side of the ball, the Saints will also provide a significant challenge now that they've got the Shanahan DNA in their offense upon hiring Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator.

All things consider, this should be a fun game of football between two well-coached teams that will battle it out at noon at AT&T Stadium.

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